


Hours from Another Day

by pidgethepidgeon



Series: Beetlejuice Short Stories [20]
Category: Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Family, Found Family, Hurt and comfort, Juno has no rights, Juno is a bitch, Lydia needs a hug, TW: Emotional Manipulation, kinda sad but...the ending???, tw: Mentions of Suicide, tw: minor description of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:47:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23485525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pidgethepidgeon/pseuds/pidgethepidgeon
Summary: What if Juno had caught Lydia after "Home"?
Relationships: Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Charles Deetz & Delia Deetz, Charles Deetz/Emily Deetz
Series: Beetlejuice Short Stories [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1556005
Comments: 10
Kudos: 67





	Hours from Another Day

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a tiktok by @cositsmaddie

She crumpled on the floor, tucking herself tightly into her knees as she let tears finally freely fall. She was lost and all alone in the Netherworld. She didn’t even know if she wanted anybody to find her, she just wanted the pain to stop. She heard footsteps behind her and didn’t even bother to move if they were going to kill her they were going to kill her. There was no point in trying to stop it. She felt a jolt when someone grabbed onto her shoulders roughly and tried to lift her up.

  
“Lydia!” her father shouted, “Thank God, we have to go home.”

  
“I don’t have a home.”

  
“Don’t say that. Look I know things have been difficult but-”

  
“We’ve moving forward, right?” She cried, shooting up, “That’s your answer for everything! Move forward, feel nothing! Well, you got what you wanted, dad, an infinite abyss of nothing!”

  
“You think this is what I wanted, I never said that-”

  
“You never say anything!” She screamed. There was a pause, all that could be heard was their heavy breathing and the hiccuping sobs coming from Lydia as she tried to gain some kind of authoritative composure. She wanted so desperately for her father to just understand, to just let her feel without making her out to be some kind of overdramatic teenager. He had no idea what Emily meant to her. She wiped away at her eyes, trying with no avail, to curb the flow of tears

  
“She was my whole world!” her voice cracked, “And she left us. And you won’t even say her name”

  
“Because it hurts too much!

  
They stared at each other, something pulsing through Lydia that felt like battery acid in her bloodstream. It seemed as though there was a penny tossed in the air and they were both anxiously awaiting the outcome.

  
“She was my world too, Lydia. That’s why I’ve been trying so hard to build us a new one.”

  
“Dad, there’s no one in it. We left each other behind, and now we’re all alone.”

  
“You’re right. You know your mother knew this was going to happen,” he paused and gestured around him to the nothingness, “well not this, I don’t think anyone could have predicted this. A few nights before-”

  
Lydia broke out into a sob, clasping her hand over her mouth, her eyes tightly closed shut.

  
“A few nights before the end, Emily, took my hand and said, “I know you want to fix it but we just have to hold on to each other and live through it. I thought she was talking about us. She was talking about...us.”

  
“I don’t want to forget her,” Lydia cried, “I’m so scared I’m going to forget her. Promise me that we can talk about her!”

  
“Any time you want.”

  
She ran into her father’s arms, crushing into his welcoming embrace as she cried, Her tears soaked the fabric of his jacket but she couldn’t bring herself to care. His arms finally felt like a comfort to her instead of a lame attempt to stop her grieving. Those past six months she felt like she had lost both her parents and now...he didn’t make any attempt to move. He just held her tightly as he stroked her short black hair. Lydia nestled her head onto his chest and whispered, “Let’s go home.”

  
He patted her back, “That stripey demon will be there waiting for us-”  
“I almost feel bad for him,”

  
“Why?”

  
“He’s the loneliest guy I’ve ever met.” A mischievous grin grew on her face, “And that’s how we’re gonna beat him. Trust me, it’s going to get weird but it’ll work! Let’s draw the door!”

  
He awkwardly patted at his coat pockets, “I just have to go get the chalk. I hid it in case one of those dancing football players found me. He was so fast! So much poise!”

  
She couldn’t help but giggle as her father ran off dancing like one of the recently deceased they had seen earlier. She hesitated for a second, processing what all had just happened. She was going home. After all these months she felt like she had somewhere she really belonged, no longer feeling like a stranger with her own family. Sure now it was a little different, but she loved them. All of them. Adam, Barbara, Delia, and her dad. It wasn’t usual and she knew it was going to be messy but it was all that she had and it was more than enough. She regretted even going to the Netherworld in the first place, she was so blinded with grief that she didn’t realize she would be throwing her whole life away. She vowed to herself from that moment on that she was going to make the best of being flesh and bone. That she wouldn't feel selfish for doing it because her mother would want this, she knew deep down, even before all of this happened that her mom wouldn’t want her to have gotten like this. She would have wanted Lydia to enjoy life.

  
She smiled softly and whispered, even though she knew nobody could head, “Mama I’m going home.”

  
Looking over at the corridor she couldn’t see her father anymore but she figured that he couldn’t be far ahead so she started to run in his direction, the smile on her face spreading with each step she took towards the life ahead of her. It was going to be better from here on out, if their plan worked everything was going to be okay. She just needed to get home. She ran through a few corridors still not having found her father but she tried not to worry about it too much, he couldn’t have been that much further ahead of her; she only left a second or two after him. He was probably just waiting for her because she knew he wouldn’t go without her. She was about to turn to the next hall when she felt someone grab onto the crook of her elbow, she spun around quickly thinking it was her dad who somehow must have gotten behind her but the smile quickly disappeared from her face when she found herself face to face with Juno.  
Her grey sickly colored skin leered dangerously close to Lydia who tried to tug her arm away, praying that this was just a bad dream but the cloud of smoke coming from the demon’s open neck dropped a sickening rock in her stomach that this was real. Frantically she tried to break out of the grasp, trying to use her other hand to pry the fingers wrapping more tightly around her arm the more she struggled.

  
“You!” Juno yelled, “Thought you could get away didn’t you? Well let me tell you here, you come to the Netherworld you don’t go back!”

  
“Please,” she begged, “This was all a big mistake. I’m not supposed to be here, please I’m still alive. I just want to go home, I won’t do it again. I was just trying to find my mom.”

  
“Aw well isn’t that sweet. Adorable actually.” Juno released her grip on the teenager and threw her down on the ground harshly, “You aren’t going to find her. You were never going to find her.”

  
Lydia winced and backed herself into the corner of the hallway, bringing her knees to her chest as the demon walked menacingly over, the clacking of her heels pounding like drums in Lydia’s ears. She tried not to look scared, she didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing how terrified Lydia was at that moment. She was already so exhausted from the day she had, physically and emotionally drained but she couldn’t afford to let Juno know that. She’d have no chance if she didn’t at least try and pretend she was alright.

  
“I don’t like being made a liar. You wanted to be here so badly? Jumped into hell on a whim to find your mommy?” she took a drag from her cigarette, “But now because you’ve changed your mind you expect me to just let that happen?”

  
“I want to leave!” Lydia glared up at the demon, “I just want to go home.”

  
“There’s nothing for you there sweetheart. All those people, what have they done for you? Those ghosts in your attic, they abandoned you didn’t they?”

  
“How do you know about-”

  
“The pathetic demon with the purple hair, he’s so goddamn selfish. Always boohooing about how mean his mommy was to him. Honey, he was using you. You were just too stupid to realize how easily you were played. It’s entertaining, really. Do you think he cares about you? He would sell your soul for the change in someone’s pockets and throw the coins on the ground, that’s how little you mean to him, kid.”

  
“No, you’re wrong!” Lydia felt tears building up in her eyes, “He did some bad stuff, I did too. He’s not a bad person!”

  
“But you are,” Juno laughed, “I saw what you’re made of and it’s impressive. There’s a certain darkness inside of you. That lame excuse of demon only managed to scratch the surface of what you’re capable of, there’s so much more. Doesn't that scare you? It scares the hell out of me. We can’t have something like that running around in the world of the living. If anything you should be thanking me. I’m going everybody a favor getting rid of you.”

  
“That’s-that’s not true!”

  
“No point in fighting the inevitable kid, let’s just give it up already. You got to have your fun running like a maniac.”

  
Lydia took the opportunity to jump up and try to escape, running without looking where she was going just so focused on putting one foot in front of the other, a burning feeling spreading through her lungs as she greedily took in oxygen. She knew by the time she made it past a few corridors that she must have lost Juno by then, there was no way that with a walker she could possibly catch up to the teenager. She had no clue where she was though, no idea where her father had gone. In her attempt to get away she hadn’t even bothered to pay attention where she was going, the Netherworld was confusing enough but now...she was even more lost than she had been before. Her father could be anywhere so she just kept running. After turning a corner she heard voices, quicky she ducked back behind the hidden wall, peering her head out to see members of the recently deceased searching around. No doubt they were looking for her, Juno wouldn’t make it that easy for Lydia to get away.  
She didn’t know what to do, she didn’t want to draw attention to herself. There was no way she could take on five people by herself. If she had any chalk she wouldn’t have drawn a door but she had given it to her father, her heart sank wondering where he was. Juno wanted him just as dead as she wanted her. The only other choice was to start going backward and hope that Juno hadn’t caught onto her trail. She spent a second trying to catch her breath before she started up running again, the ruffles of her dress now a hindrance.

  
“I think I see her!” a voice yelled out down the hall.

  
She stopped dead in her tracks, turning around on her heels and sprinted the other way. There was no use, both ends of the hallway were flanked by the recently deceased, all of them looking for her. She was trapped, a mouse trying to ward off two very angry cats. She wanted to just shrink into herself, the burning in her lungs quickly replaced with a tightening in her chest and panic rising to the surface. There was no way out of this, she was screwed and it scared her. She tried so hard to act so mature and so independent but all she had felt was scared and alone. Now she was actually alone, with nowhere to run and nobody to run to.

  
She wasn’t going to go down without a fight, she knew there was no way she could take them all, by her estimate, there were about twenty of them and she was just one person. She couldn’t just stand there and wait for them to catch her, she spotted a crack in their hoards, not a big one but big enough for someone small like her to sneak through if she was quick enough. It wouldn’t do much but if anything it could buy her just a little more time. Her eyes darted quickly between the two rapidly approaching groups and knew that it was this or nothing. She ran for the mob, ducking down low to try and get past them. She could feel arms pulling at her, trying to knock her off balance, nails clawing at the sleeves of her dress. She pushed on and kept trying to fight her way through the crowd, keeping her head down low to look at the ground and protect her face from what seemed like thousands of hands reaching out towards her. It was almost hard to breathe with all the bodies surrounding her, she hated all her life being short but right now she had never been more thankful for inheriting her mother’s height. She thought she was nearly in the clear when she slammed into something solid, the wind knocked out of her as she fell backward on the ground.

  
She hardly had a second to adjust herself before she felt strong hands grabbing at her shoulders and pulling her up to her feet. Her heart pounded in her chest and all that coursed through her whole body was unadulterated dread. With a shaky breath, she turned her head and saw the football player standing behind her, his hands firmly grasped onto her shoulders. She tried to squirm away in a last-ditch effort, but he quickly hooked his arm around her neck. He didn’t press hard enough to hurt her, but it was strong enough to keep her where she was. She focused on breathing through her nose, ignoring the fight-or-flight tension building up in her tiny frame. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to just collapse on the floor and sleep. She was so tired, so tired of all the running from everything.

  
“Well, have you got that out of your system now?” Juno sighed, walking up to her. Lydia gritted her teeth when Juno grazed a lock of her black hair with her long red nails, “I knew you were trouble, didn’t know how much though. You really need to stop with all of this kid, you aren’t doing anybody any favors and you’re just making it harder for yourself. Dying isn’t so bad, I wouldn’t remember but everybody goes through it so it can’t be all that painful. Guess it depends on how you go.”

“My dad-”

  
Juno held back a cackle, “Your dad? You mean the one who didn’t hesitate to draw a door the minute he saw them chasing after him.”

  
“You’re lying!”

  
“I don’t lie sweetheart. What I tell people hurts, but that’s the way it goes with the truth. You weren’t even a thought in his head, he left you behind like you were nothing. That must make you so angry.”

  
“You are lying!” Lydia fought against the boy holding her, but his grip just tightened and it became harder to breathe, “He wouldn’t leave me! Not after everything we’ve been through. He loves me!”

  
“Ha, he sure has a weird way of showing it doesn’t he? How long after your mommy died did it take for daddy to find a new plaything? Had they even buried her body yet?”

  
Lydia shook her head, blocking out everything Juno was telling her. It wasn’t true, none of it was true. Her father made mistakes, she had made plenty of them too but they talked about it, he promised he wasn’t going to be like that anymore, he wouldn’t have just left her here to die. He wouldn’t have picked Delia over her, right? No, he wouldn’t. She didn’t know why she was letting Juno mess with her head. It didn’t make any sense, she was still his daughter, he wouldn’t just abandon her...though he hadn’t even tried to get her when Beetlejuice possessed their dinner party, he made sure to protect Delia though. The thought of his hand on her waist made her sick, only seven months ago that was how he touched her mother. How quickly he had replaced her. Lydia could be replaceable too, she thought.

  
“It’s not like that.” She said, her confidence wavering slightly, “Not after all of this, he promised.”

  
Juno didn’t laugh, that’s what worried Lydia. She didn’t laugh or make a joke or tease her for being so sure that her dad wouldn’t do this to her. Instead, Juno just gave her a sad look, almost like she had….pity for Lydia. It made her skin crawl, but she swallowed the lump in her throat.

  
“Let me tell you something. People promise things they don’t intend to keep all the damn time. One day you think you’re in love, ready for marriage and a family and a life together and the next thing you know he’s up and gone and all you have left is a mini version of him reminding you that you weren’t good enough. It always ends ugly, so save yourself the heartache and just give it up kid. There’s nobody coming for you, there’s no point in even trying to go back because there’s nobody there for you either.”

  
Lydia fought back burning tears in her eyes, not wanting anything being said to be true but deep down, it started to make sense. Her father so quickly was ready to remarry, moving Lydia from the home she always knew to some random state, proposing to Delia only six months after her mother had died. The Maitland’s wanted to pretend they were there for her, but the minute shit got real they left her to drown. None of this would have happened if they had just let her alone or helped her the way she wanted them to. She wouldn’t have had to trust Beetlejuice to open the book, she wouldn’t have been tricked, she wouldn’t have had to listen to Barbara screaming as she was being exorcised as Lydia helplessly flipped through the book, everyone around her shouting at her, she didn’t know what she was doing. She wouldn’t have had to watch her father fighting chains on the wall or feel so utterly and completely helpless when Adam was trapped too. She wouldn't have had to agree to marry Beetlejuice just so that all the pain and shouting and noise would stop. She was fifteen for god sake, this wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

  
“They don’t care about you.” Juno reminded her, almost as if she could hear what was running through Lydia’s head, “They don’t understand you. Wouldn’t it be nice to just feel numb? To just have all the pain stop forever? Remember how sure you were before? On the roof, it feels just like that. Like you’re flying, doesn’t it?”

  
There were mutters of agreement coming from the now increasing crowd of newly dead people, snapping her back to reality. The arm hooked around her neck curling in, further making it hard to breathe. Lydia felt light headed and her body quickly losing strength, she leaned on the football player for support trying not to completely fall over.

  
“You won’t be invisible here,” Juno promised, a knife appearing from behind her back. Lydia’s eyes widened and she started fighting against the football player holding her again, stomping on his feet, kicking, anything just trying to get away. Juno simply shook her head and told the boy to let her go. Instantly the arm around her neck disappeared and Lydia nearly collapsed to the ground from the sudden lack of balance. She skittishly stood up, darting her eyes around trying to find some way out but it was obvious she was cornered. Juno turned the blade, and extended the handle towards Lydia, offering it to her, “I told you I can see a darkness in you kid, so I’m going to give you the choice. You can do the right thing for them, for you. Or you can kill me. I won’t stop you, I won’t have them stop you but I figured this would be quicker than having to suffer for years out there in the living world knowing deep down that nobody wants you.”

The crowd of the recently deceased slowly left the corridor but Lydia stood frozen in place, not making any attempt to grab the weapon. Juno noticed the girl’s hesitation and opened Lydia’s hand gently, placed the black handle of the knife in her grasp and closed it, patting her hand for good measure, “What you did before, you’re deluding yourself if you think that is going to be an isolated instance. Terrorizing your neighbors, you liked it.”

  
“They were just pranks.” Lydia rationalized, “Nobody got hurt!”

  
“That time. Who knows what you might be capable of if you aren’t stopped. I’ll let you take that risk, but are you willing to?”

  
Lydia looked down at the knife in her hands, her reflection glaring back at her. She almost couldn’t recognize who she was anymore, her eyes dropping and deep purple bags underneath, her once blonde hair dyed black in a fit of rage. She wasn’t the same person she was before her mom died, she doubted if Emily saw her now she’d even know it was her daughter staring back at her. She didn’t know what to think anymore, she wanted so badly for what Juno was saying to not be true. She curled her free fist into her hair and started to hyperventilate, everything was running through her head and shouting. She wanted it to stop, she wanted to be done with it all and this seemed like her way out. This made sense, she was an outcast in her own family. Forsaken. Invisible.

  
Her mind drifted back to that night on the roof, how desperate she had felt and utterly betrayed by her father. She was so sure that she was doing the right thing, the only reason she hadn’t done it was because Beetlejuice had stopped her, he promised to help her, but he lied too. Everybody lied to her. All the good memories she had were tainted now, she didn’t care how much he made her laugh with his stupid tricks or how warm and comforting hugs from the Maitland’s felt. Not even how, despite Lydia’s protests, Delia tried so hard to connect with her. Or how sincere her father when he promised that things would be different now, after all, that they had been through. But he left her, he left her behind and all alone in the Netherworld. Her grip on the knife faltered and a stray tear splashed on the silver blade. She was now freely crying, no longer able to hold it back, she felt so broken.

  
“What’s this now?” Juno screwed her face in disgust, “No stop it with the crying, god you’re pathetic. Just make your choice or we’ll make it for you.”

  
“I just wanted my mom.” Lydia shook her head, her lip trembling, “I never meant for this to happen. I just miss her so much.”

  
“And don’t you want that pain to stop?”

  
“Lydia!” a voice shouted, so muffled by the distance she almost couldn’t make out the person was calling out her name, “Lydia!”

  
“Dad…” relief rushed through her body

  
“Get away from her!” another familiar voice yelled out, the sound getting closer

Lydia brought her head up, the knife clattering to the ground as she brought her hand up to her mouth to stifle a sob. They came back for her. All of them. Adam, Barbara, Delia, her father. She took a shaky step towards them as they ran to her but she was harshly yanked backward, Juno’s nails cutting into her arm. Once again she was restrained by an arm around her neck, and though she couldn’t see it she could feel something sharp pressed under her chin.

“Let go of her!” her father demanded, but a quick wave of Juno’s hand forced all of them up against the wall.

  
“I told you. Once you go to the Netherworld you don’t go back!” Juno walked forward, dragging Lydia with her, “I gave you a second chance, walk away scotch free if you just leave the brat and you took up my deal-”

  
“You didn’t give me a choice! You shoved me through the door. Lydia don’t believe her, I would never leave you behind!”

  
Lydia could feel herself starting to lose consciousness, the frantic faces of her family switching focus between her, the knife, and Juno. For an old woman, Juno was surprisingly strong, no matter how much Lydia kicked and fidgeted she couldn’t fight off the hold Juno had on her. She didn’t know what Juno wanted, if she wanted Lydia dead she could have done it already, it was almost like she wanted Lydia to surrender. Manipulating her to make her feel so hopeless that she would do it herself, for what Lydia didn’t know. Power?

  
There was only one thing left to try, it was this or they would all be dead...or in the Maitland’s case deader. Lydia tilted her head back just enough that she couldn’t feel the blade on her chin. She said it quietly at first, trying not to draw attention to herself, “Beetlejuice.”

  
Even though he had just a few short hours ago tried to force her into a green-card wedding by threatening the lives of her and her entire family she was desperate. She didn’t know if he would even help, or if he would just stand there and laugh. It was better than doing nothing.

  
“Beetlejuice.”

  
“Shut up!” Juno clasped a hand over Lydia’s mouth, “Don’t bring that lazy sack of shit into this, he’s not going to do anything. He’s worthless.”

  
Lydia bit down hard, the second the hand disappeared she screamed, “Beetlejuice!”

  
It all happened so quickly after that, she didn’t have any time to process anything. All she could hear was yelling and the familiar screech of the monster she had encountered while haunting her house. Sandworm, she remembered they were called. The ceiling above them crashed in and the black and white striped worm saddled by the demon in a game-show getup. She could hear the clatter of the knife moved away from her neck and dropping to the floor when Beetlejuice announced, “Hiya mom!”

  
Debris scattered all around the floor but Juno didn’t loosen her grip on Lydia, almost a taunt that if she was going down she was going to take Lydia with her. She hadn’t even registered that Beetlejuice had called Juno his mother, she was just terrified of what was going to happen. Sandworms were not easy to control, she remembered Beetlejuice telling her all about them, how they eat ghosts. Her mind shifted to Adam and Barbara, she was scared for them now, if Beetlejuice lost control what would stop the worm from devouring the Maitlands. She could see Beetlejuice calculating like he was trying to figure out the best plan but if she knew anything from being friends with him...he wasn’t the best at making smart choices.

  
“Mom just let her go, forget about it. Nothing has to end this way.”

  
“How cute, all of you ganging up against the mean lady from hell! Adorable. I’ve told you once, I’ve told you all a million times you go to the Netherworld, you don’t go back! She’s seen too much, you all have. If you want to badly for you to be a little fucking family you can die together!”

  
The sandworm roared, snapping its gangly teeth menacingly at the people below it. Lydia shook looking desperately at anyone to give her some kind of guidance, a hint at what she should do but there was no other way. If she wanted Juno gone there was only one way to do it. She tilted her head up towards Beetlejuice and shouted, “Just do it!”

  
There was a tinge of hesitation in his eyes but he nodded, tilting his cowboy hat down on his head and reigned the sandworm backward before lurching it forward. The clashing sounds of the sandworm’s roar, Juno’s deafening screeches, and the cries of her family all rang in Lydia’s ears, her head pounded but for a moment she felt weightless as the ground beneath them broke and they were in a freefall. If Juno was right about one thing it was that it did feel like flying, it was going to be painless Lydia hoped but a piece of the broken floor cracked against her head, she fought to keep awake but it was to no avail.

A hand grabbed on to the sleeve of her now torn dress, hauling her up and holding her steady, “Not so fast Scarecrow, I didn’t go through all this trouble for you to die now.”

  
Her eyelids felt like sandbags but she tried to keep them open against the pounding pain spreading across her head and down the rest of her body. She felt dizzy but she knew when they were back on solid ground. Beeltejuice had picked her up and handed her to her father who cradled her delicatly in his arms. He pressed his forhead into hers and the last thing that she heard before it all went black was her father crying and thanking Beetlejuice.  
____________________________________________________________________________  
It all felt numb for a while. She wouldn’t say she was sleeping, but she wasn’t awake either. It was a strange sort of limbo but she felt like she was floating, the more aware she became the more painful the roaring in her head became. She could tell she was laying down on a bed, there were pillows behind her head and her hands clutched at blankets laid gently on her tiny frame. She hesitantly opened her eyes, though blurry she could make out five forms standing around her. As her vision cleared she could see the concern on their faces melting away to relief. She tried to say something but her father crashed into her with a tight hug, sobbing into her hair, “I thought I was going to lose you too.”

  
“What happened?” she asked, the details fuzzy in her mind but overridden by the pounding pain spreading throughout her head

  
“You don’t remember?” Barbara questioned, a sad look appearing on her face  
“I remember some of it. I remember being lost, and I remember...her catching me and not being able to breathe. I remember, Beetlejuice.” Lydia glanced up at him and smiled softly, “I remember him riding in on a sandworm-” she couldn’t help but laugh, “I’d say it’s a head injury that I’m saying these things but I know it’s true. I don’t know why you helped me, but thank you.”

  
“Are you kidding? I wasn’t going to let my best friend get hurt by that bitch the way she hurt me. Look kid, I know a lot happened and I’m a shit guy but when they all ran into the Netherworld to go and get you, I knew I wanted that too, that level of caring about someone so fucking much they were willing to die or...die again I guess. If it’s alright with you, I want to go back to being chaos buddies.”

  
“I’d like that.” Lydia nestled back down in the bed, her eyes still heavy and tired from all she had been through, “She was wrong, about all of you. She was trying to tell me you all hated me.”

  
“Lydia we could never!” Adam interjected

  
“I know she was just trying to trick me but some of the things she was saying, they sounded so real. I felt so alone, like I had no other option. I didn’t even know who I was or why I was there. I just-”

  
Her father sat down on the bed and Lydia leaned on his shoulder, letting a stray tear run off her nose. He ran his fingers soothingly through her dark hair just holding her. She couldn’t help it, she started to cry hysterically, barley making out words between little gasps for breath. Suddenly everybody got on the bed, enveloping her in a tight and reassuring embrace.

  
“Do you know where you are now?” Barbara asked when the teenager had calmed down, her thumb grazing Lydia’s still pale and shaky hand gently.

  
“I’m home.”


End file.
